Peace of Heart
by Slytherinchickk
Summary: Imagine having twelve siblings you haven't seen in a hundred years. A reunion isn't the first thing on your to-do list when it comes to them. How about an entire Vampire Community that has been out of the loop when it comes to whether your alive or dead?
1. Chapter One

**_Peace of Heart_**

_**Chapter 1: Speculations**_

* * *

He heard her feather-light footsteps skip across the granite floor tops before she clasped her hands over his eyes. "Guess who?" she cooed in her soft, sing-song voice.

He rattled off names of people he really didn't know, enjoying the bit of frustration she emitted from her body. When he finally whispered her name, she sighed and slumped into the chair beside his at the dinning table. Jasper and Alice were alone for the weekend. The others were off gallivanting for a decent meal in some remote, but still fairly close, forest.

He didn't press her. Her emotions told him she was enthusiastic over something. He knew he'd be told eventually. When she sighed again, this time long and exaggerated, however, he felt boredom and disappointment through her.

"Somethin' wrong?" he inquired, leaning in so that their foreheads touched.

Alice closed her eyes and breathed in his sent. He smelt of gun-powder, sunflowers and some cologne she'd talked him into trying. The gun powder, she imagined, was from the long, hard, agonizing years before they'd met. A time when he was off to war, both as a human and an immortal. He was permanently scarred by the newborns of his second life. And a smell to match the brutal hardship he went through as a human, or at least she presumed. The sunflower, however, she figured, was the mark of his human life, in a land he refused to talk about.

Alice was lost in her own fantasies, smiling as they played themselves over in her mind. She imagined him, lying on his back in a field of wild and sun flowers, gazing at the sun and the clouds. His skin would have been tan, or perhaps burned, from working under its intense heat all day long, on a farm, no doubt. But it wouldn't have sparked like diamonds like it did now, and that thought comforted her. She imagined him. No. _Them_, human. How she imagined him courting her, delighting her with dozens and dozens of flowers, chocolates, and the finest jewelry from all the closest towns, and some over.

Though it seemed as if they were merely courting today, every minute they spent alone together, she sometimes longed for their immortality to be fake, and that she could feel his soft, breakable human flesh against her own.

She pictured him again, enlisting in the army, at only seventeen, for reasons she could only guess as duty to sustain the southern pride he'd been brought up with. Alice held a hand to his cheek and slowly traced over his features. She pictured him, his stone features and all, tanned, breakable, and clad in a uniform of a Confederate Solider. She'd watch as he'd board a train, or simply climb up onto a horse's back, heading for a base camp, or off to the war itself. But not before he would interlace his fingers with hers, steal a gentle kiss or two, and gently trail them along her hand as well. And he would promise her he'd be back soon.

"Alice," Jasper whispered, ghosting his lips over hers, but not quite touching.

_If _he would return, she may throw herself at him, glorying in the fact that he'd made it back to her, safe and sound.

"Alice," he sighed again. Though this time there was a note of concern underlying his tone.

He may or may not get down on bended knee and-

"Alice." There was a sense of urgency in his voice now and everything shifted.

Alice stood alongside the rest of the Cullens in a clearing, the same one they had where they had been confronted by the Volturi and had defeated Victoria's army of newborns. Jasper and Emmett stood protectively in front of the others, ready to take the first onslaught if the others needed to get away.

But that was it. That was all she could procure from that flimsy, almost uninterruptible vision. The venom in her veins boiled with hatred towards Jacob Black and his wolf pack. They must be in the clearing for a reason. But she couldn't be sure of that reason because of their interference.

Jasper lightly shook Alice's shoulders and she focused her attention on him. "What'd you see?" he demanded to know. She shook her head and closed the distance between them. But he pulled away from her, for he could read the distress she showed only in her emotions but not her facial features.

She rolled her eyes at his sudden persistence. "The dogs are getting in the way," she told him. Delighted in the way he smiled as he kissed her again.

"Aren't they always in the way?" It was rhetorical. He knew perfectly well they were. Jasper felt the sudden flash of a anger a fourth of a second before he felt her hand crash against the side of his face.

The force she had put behind slapping him had snapped his jaw in half. Thankfully, all he needed to do was right it to fix it. One of the great things about being a vampire, he reflected. Alice stalked out of the room, Jasper followed out of concern for her well being. She never acted like that. Though he was a bit aroused by the sudden change of pace, it unnerved him to know she was unhappy.

Alice faced away from him in the Cullen's living room, her arms wrapped around her tightly, she stared out the window. Jasper crossed to her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head through her short dark hair. She sighed and relaxed into him, by her own free will. "I say," she started, amusement and sincerity radiating from her petite frame, "we send the dogs somewhere so I can see again…" Her voice trailed off as she contemplated the possibilities. It was clearly meant as a joke, but neither of them laughed, sensing how serious Alice was about it. She wasn't kidding around anymore. "How about Cambodia?"

* * *

The Cullens had come home earlier than expected. Carlisle and Esme were outside, busying themselves with plans for where to put Esme's new garden. Rosalie was in the garage, fiddling with the transmission in Bella's car. Emmett, Bella, Nessie, Alice and Edward were also outside glorying in the freshness the spring air brought to the slowly defrosting town of Forks, Washington. They weren't expecting any company, so being outdoors seemed quite alright. Jasper was also there, leaning against a tree on the edge of the wood, sometimes reading the American classic in his lap, sometimes watching over the others.

Jasper wasn't left alone very often. Normally, Alice would insist he participate in anything she did. He was grateful she hadn't today. He felt tired. As tired as any vampire could be, anyway. He was sick and tired of being hounded and followed around like a God-damned _dog_. Everyone seemed to think he would lash out at the nearest human, given the chance. He wouldn't. He knew he couldn't. He worked way to hard to trip up now. He was sick of Bella and Edward being so lovey-dovey all the time. He wished they would cool it every now and then, knowing he could feel and know what they are feeling, all the time. He was tired of the wolves, screwing up Alice's visions. She was never sure of anything anymore, and it worried the entire family. He was tired of Nessie's questioning, interrogating rather, of his past. She seemed to know he was lying when he'd said he doesn't remember a lot about being human. And, by God, he was sick and tired of Forks. Sick of the dreary weather always causing depression for the locals whilst his vampire family basked in it, happy to be allowed out in the public eye. The mixtures of emotions sometimes got to him and made him feel queasy and uncomfortable…

And speaking of those peculiar emotions, Jasper felt the sudden shift in both Edward and Alice, as if it were him who was seeing the vision first hand.

He rushed to her, gently took the mud covered football from her steal grasp and calmed her down a bit. He smelt essence of dog and groaned in frustration. Carlisle stopped them from coming any closer and sent them back over the Treaty Line; Bella would call them when it was alright to come back.

When Alice exhaled at last, sighing out of relief, she felt anything but. She emitted a bit of fear, a tinge of happiness, and a good measure of curiosity. The happiness did not reach her eyes when she turned to Jasper with an accusing and disbelieving gaze, which he was irrevocably shocked by. She tightened her jaw and turned away from him. "Call the dogs," she demanded. "We're about to get some company."

* * *

**_A/N: This is gonna be the newer, better, refreshed and revised version of Whitlock Pride(which was deleted, and was mine, by the way), for those few that may have read it, you know what I mean. It will have some of the same factors.. Clearly not everything will be the same, but otherwise it's still the same concept. _**

**_Disclaimer: I clearly don't own anything but random characters that will be thrown in eventually, the way these words are strewn together, and the plot. Everything else is Stephenie Meyers. _**

**_I hope you like the first chapter. Not sure when the next will be up yet. _**

**_Reviews would be lovely(:_**


	2. Chapter Two

**_Peace of Heart_**

_**Chapter Two: Visitors**_

* * *

Bella had tried contacting Jacob, numerous times. She also tried Leah and Seth, out of desperation, but none of them answered her calls. She was panicking, so Jasper calmed her down, while also keeping tabs on Alice's uncommon hostile rage. He normally tried not to meddle with the emotions of the people he lived with. It made things awkward with him already knowing what they were feeling.

"If they weren't mutant, teenage hair balls we wouldn't be having a problem finding them," Alice grumbled, watching Edward intently.

Edward was searching for Jacob, Leah, and Seth through their minds. Jasper knew, as Edward felt immensely accomplished, that he already had. He stood, his brows furrowed. "Can you still see them?" Edward asked of Alice. Them being the visitors. Alice shook her head, grumbling under her breath in a language Jasper had yet to learn. Edward ran for the door, still looking distant, as well as feeling it. All the others were obligated to follow, as something was obviously wrong.

You'd think, with such a clouded and concentrated mind as Edward's, he would need help dodging unsuspecting trees. Or at least run a little slower. Unfortunately, however, as always, Jasper and Rosalie were behind them all as they followed Edward through the woods, not bothering to put strength into their running. They didn't feel threatened enough to run any faster. Edward was first to get to the clearing. Alice, Bella, and Carlisle were right on his tail.

It was deserted when the got there. They stood together, surveying the forrest around them. The only sound Jasper could hear was the faint gush of wind hitting the trees and swaying the overgrown grass and bushes. He breathed in, dismissing the scent of his niece's nearly human blood, like he had been getting used to doing. The stench of dog filled his nose and he wrinkled it and stopped breathing, in a vain attempt to rid himself of it.

There was a light rustling of leaves and the pounding of wolves' paws on the ground, could be heard. Still, the Cullens remained grounded, waiting. Jasper inhaled again, but he couldn't smell out these supposed "visitors". The pack's scent was to strong. Their footsteps grew louder. Jasper turned around, awaiting the unknown oncoming. He moved to stand in front of her, shielding her protectively, just in case. She chuckled behind him and rolled her golden eyes at his behavior, but he didn't care. He was in a zone, so to speak.

The sound of the wolves running, slowed to a walk, causing confusion and concern to override the Cullen's curiousity.

They didn't run. They weren't even threatened by the wolves, as they simply strode along beside them into the clearing, as if it were a normal occurance. There was three. Two males, and a female vampire. One of the men, tall and gangly, red haired with ivory skin. His eyes were just as cold, hungry, and black as his companions. The other, was around his own hieght. He was more toned then the other, but was clearly intimadated by Emmett, though he tried not to show it. His dark hair was disheveled, and a tad long, looking like it needed a cut. He and the woman, were were ghostly pale. Not like the red head, who more than likely lived in a colder climate when he was human. Then the woman, she was only as tall as Bella, perhaps. Her dirty blonde hair was pinned at the back of her neck, but was long enough that it flowed over her shoulders in heavy waves. The woman looked oddly familiar to him; the way her jaw was set, how her features were angled, the way she held herself up as if she were a dictator. She held a commanding presense, which, in only the short amount of time he had had to size the three up, he found most irratating.

The trio stepped before them, unsure of what to do, it seemed. Carlisle stepped foward. The red head did also, extending his hand in greeting. "John Louis," he said. "You must be Carlisle, right?" Carlisle nodded, not at all surprised to find the stranger knew his name, and shook Louis' hand. Clearly, the three had been sent to find them.

Carlisle would have hated to be rude, but Emmett just didn't care. "Why are you here?" he inquired.

Louis glanced around at the rest of the Cullens. His gaze caught with a few of them and he'd hastily move on to the next whilst he reached into his and took out a manila envelope. "We've been sent to deliver this to you." He handed it to Carlisle and backed away, slowly. One of the wolves, Leah, Jasper could only guess though, growled and barred her teeth when he backed into her. Jasper observed the other vampires. The woman was standing close to one of the wolves, curiousity, and a strange longing to know how furry it was eating her alive, Jasper could feel it. The other man, was staring off towards the trees, an escape, adrenaline boiling in his veins.

"And there had to be three of you?" Rosalie inquired also.

Well, no," Louis said, a bit conflicted with the question, himself. "We have more co-"

"Families," the blonde piped in. "We have more _families _to pay a visit to." She glared at the red head but came over to stand next to him.

Jacob, who had changed back, walked into the clearing from where they had entered. "Well then, don't let us stop you," he said. "You can leave, now." The visitors didn't seem insulted by this, more relieved than anything.

Carlisle called them back, of course, when they had shrugged though the now packed, with wolves, clearing. It seemed Jacob had called in some reinforcements. Carlisle flipped through a couple papers from the envelope then looked up at them. "This is Aro's doing?" he inquired.

"No," the three replied.

"Then I think you better come in," Carlisle said.

"Yeah," Alice bitterly added. "Explanations would be great."

* * *

**_So, I know I havent updated this in awhile. And I was gonna delete it.. cause I promised my favorite bitter reader(who secretly loves my Twilight stories and just doesnt know it) that I would.. But I keep coming back to it when Im writing other stuff. So scratch that.. _**

**_This is just a filler chapter, I think, by the way. Nothing good really happened. The next should be more interesting, as some things I made up start comin' in to play. Either way, I hope you liked it. Review and let me know?_**

**_- Slytherinchickk_**

**_Disclaimer: I only own the blondie, the red head, and the one I have yet to come up with a name for yet.. The rest, is all Stephenie Meyer's. _**

**_Reviews would be lovely(:_**


	3. Chapter Three

**_Peace of Heart_**

**_Chapter Three: Plane Tickets and History Lessons_**

* * *

They'd basically herded the visitors into the house. They hadn't given them much choice. The wolves drove them towards the house, and the Cullens made sure they didn't drift to either side. Now, Jacob was keeping watch. It was a strange predicament, really. The visitors were upstairs, in Carlisle's study. And they were all downstairs, trying to figure out what to do with them, and the message they had brought.

The wolves volunteered ripping them apart, burning the pieces. They had, after all, traveled on their land. The black in their eyes was clear evidense that they hadn't killed anyone though, so Carlisle denied them. Esme was all for hearing them out. Not that they had a lot to tell them. They were only messengers. But that was what they decided to do.

Once upstairs, in Carlisle's study, he sitting at his desk. Alice sat on the arm of the chair in which Jasper sat, nearest a large wooden bookcase. Rosalie and Emmett were on the floor with Reneesme, trying to keep her entertained.

"This is the original," the blonde visitor commented, running her hand over the surface of a painting. Jasper took note of the strong southern accent she spoke with. It was one of Carlisle when he spent time with the Volturi. Aro and Marcus were there also, along with a few of the guards and a few others who happened to be staying too.

"Yes," Carlisle responded. "I believe that one was from the very late 1800s."

"Oh, I know," she said. All the Cullens looked up, not expecting that reaction. Normal passerbys often asked numerous questions about all the photos, paintings, books, etc. The blonde obviously saw the curiousity in their eyes and went on, "I was in it." She pointed to the very edge of the painting, where, sure enough, a blonde woman stood draped in a very revealing red dress, at least for that time era anyway. Next to her, could only be her guard. Taller, dark haired, with piercing red eyes. But that wasn't all. Her guard was in the room with them also. It wasn't a good sign. At least from the last Jasper heard; Volturi Guards were solely responsible for one or more other vampires for the rest of their eternal lives. But not only because of that were they in a bit of danger. But Volturi Guards were picked and selected by a series of tests all designed by Aro and his complex and over exagerated mind. Most of them were ex-soldiers from some country or another, trained to kill if someone even looked at their charges in a disdainful way.

Emmett stood, Jasper following suit. Unsure of how things were going to play out, they waited anxiously for their cue to charge. But Carlisle would never give them one. He strode over to her, held out his hand, whilst looking her over. "I can't say I remember you, unfortunately," he sighed.

The blonde gave him her hand, which he shook, cautiously. "You wouldn't have. Aro liked to keep Jane and I hidden, remember?" Carlisle nodded, still cautiously waiting. "Jayton Whitlock."

Jasper froze, but thawed out quickly. He hadn't heard the name in years. But it didn't mean it was her. Hell, last time he had seen his sister, she was covered in blood, her own, and lifeless in his arms. Or so he thought. Carlisle went on to talking privately with Jayton, whilst the other two were still stuck under their watch. Jayton's guard was surprisingly relaxed after she had introduced herself. John Louis looked over the other photos in the room with a keen eye, running his hand over the works and taking in the detail of each one.

Alice strode over to the third, and still uneased, vampire. She held out her hand for his, which he took immediately, once Jasper had calmed him with his uncanny ability. Alice introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am," he said. He released her hand. "I'm Tate. Tate Kotler." He ducked his head a bit, shyly, perhaps, for Carlisle had stopped his discussion with Jayton immediately when he had heard his surname.

"A Kotler?" Emmett asked, intrigued. Kotler nodded. They had all heard the stories. Except for Bella, perhaps. Stories of the adventures, inventions, and perils of the greats. There were many generations to the Kotler name. All had been changed prior to their eightteenth birthday. They were stronger, more useful as a vampire when they were turned at a younger age.

Jasper looked Tate over again, taking note of the dozens upon dozens of scars he was hidind beneath his clothes, which unfortunately could be seen where his shirt sleeves, and the collar ended. He had clearly been changed in a time where there were wars. Newborn Wars. Like Jasper, himself, had been.

"How old are you?" Bella asked, curiousity getting the better of her. She didn't know about any of the Kotler family's accomplishment so it had nothing to do with the prejudices every other vampire coven had against them.

"Twenty-three," he answered solemnly. Jayton and John hesitantly inched closer to him.

Bella sighed and rolled her eyes. Edward chuckled as he continued for her. "How long have you been twenty-three?"

"Two hundred and thirty-seven years," he responded, removing a wallet from one of his pockets and extracting a paper. It was tattered and yellowing. But written on it was his proof of life. _July 4, 1772 - Missing. _

"Missing?" Alice repeated, reading it from where she sat, again, on the arm of his chair.

"It was a lot easier to just disappear," he explained. He looked down to Jayton, quickly, then looked back to the Cullens. "We should probably go-"

"No," Esme said. "Bella ought to learn the history of the vampire world, shouldn't she? Who better to hear it from; then from someone who was there." Bella perked up at this, suddenly intrigued by the visitors, for once.

"Carlisle could explain it better than we could," Jayton replied, backing into the wall behind her.

"I've already heard Carlisle's story though," Bella replied.

Before Jayton could respond, Nessie pushed through the door of the study, looking utterly enraged, and stalked over to her mother. Then Jasper noticed she was dripping wet. Her bronze colored hair was darker from the water and dripped across the carpets. "Kick. Seth. Out," she demanded. Edward took her hand and led her out of the room. They all waited in silence, listening to Edward physically remove Seth from the house from a floor above, then waited until he and Nessie returned. In that time, Esme had taken Jayton's interest, and was showing her sketches for a room they were planning on adding to the house.

Nessie crawled up onto Jasper's lap, folded her hands together, and looked up at the Kotler vampire. "I want to hear a story," she told him. More demanded, than anything.

Carlisle brought up a few chairs, they all sat. "Right, well, where do I begin?" Tate inquired.

"I think Nessie would like to know how your immortal life played out," Carlisle responded, ushering the poor man to go on.

He tugged at his collar a bit and looked up at Nessie, unwillingly meeting Jasper's eye too, they both glared at each other and a sudden fury over came Tate. Jasper hushed it so he would go on. "I was changed later than my brothers, as you all may have noticed," he gestured to Carlisle, Edward, Esme and Emmett, "I couldn't be changed earlier because we would have been caught." He let that settle among them. Nessie was bouncing on his knee in anticipation. The two that Kotler had traveled with were even listening intently, now. "My hometown in North Carolina was big on vampire hunts, in the late seventeen hundreds. They all started when a family, rumored to be vampires, moved to the town and built their estate from scratch. It was huge. Forty-some acres at first glance, but went on and on. Enormous white house, with blue shudders and a white picket fence. The American dream.

"The father was a doctor. He worked from home and was trusted throughout the town until a few of his patients died. The minister restored the peace in the town. But then his daughter was murdered. They found two puncture wounds in her neck. To humans, sharp teeth, pale complection, and burning in the sun is the mark of a vampire. The entire town was searched. My house as well. But, the beds were slept in, as my siblings and I were still human. And as my family has the-"

"The what?" Nessie shrieked, curiousity seeping through her words. Jasper held her down as she was still bouncing.

"He'll explain when he's finished, Ness," Jacob sighed.

"Right," Tate said, racking his brain to get back where he had left off. "So my parents slept in their beds as well. There was food. And the rest of the family knew better than to keep their.. victims just lying around. We went out to town, during the day. And as you all know, real vampires certainly don't shrivel up and die in the sun." Nessie tried interupting again, but Jasper covered her mouth with his hand, and nodded for Kotler to go on.

"When they searched the doctor's house they found that they slept in coffins. The entire house was dark, covered in cobwebs. Everything vampire stories author's throw together, basically." He paused and looked to his companions. Jayton had lost interest and was staring out the window. Louis was waiting patiently. "Anyway, they were caught and burned at the stake as suspected vampires. We waited a few years and then I was changed.

"Twelve years a new born, I went off to war. Human war, of course, all the blood a newborn could want at my finger tips. When that got old, I moved on to Volterra, stayed with the Volturi as Alec and Jane's first guard. Fortunately, Aro was merciful enough to see Jane was torturing the hell out of the guards, and let us go. Only to bring in an entire new guard for her acts of torture." He looked back to Jasper, and he felt the rush of hatred and fury hit him as Tate's black eyes glared into his gold ones. "I aided the rein of a newborn army in Mexico, for sometime, until-"

"Mexico?" Jasper inquired, sitting up straighter. He remembered his immortal upbringing, studied the scars on Tate's neck and hands again, and tried his best to refocus on the story Tate was telling.

"Maria sought me out. Because of being in the war, with all the experience I had structurizing order in the mess of chaos, she thought I'd be useful."

He stopped, and looked away from Jasper to Jayton. She was sitting on the floor in front of him. Feeling his eyes on her, she nudged his leg with her elbow. "Tell 'em bout your power," she instructed.

Tate sighed, thrusting a hand through his hair. "I can.. I can mimic other vampires powers," he said. Edward sucked in a breath. "As long as I've seen or felt them use theirs."

His power explained to Jasper how he had stepped over the emotion barrier and threw the fury back at him, when Jasper had been sure he had calmed it. "There's more to the story than that," Nessie said. "What happened after that?"

"I went back to Volterra for a year or two as Heidi's guard. When I refused her advances she asked to have me killed. Aro, being none to happy with me at the time himself, had me brought foward to be ripped and burned." He stopped again, trying to hide a smile. Tate smiled at Nessie. "Jay should tell you the rest. It's her story from then on."

Jay, however, looked and felt in no mood to tell a story. She looked up at Tate doused in pain. Noting that pain, he looked to Tate. She rolled her eyes at his blatant ignorance. "I was changed at twenty-one. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, traveling to Volterra as a newborn was the first time I had ever left. Long story short," Tate started picking up on her annoyance, "I stepped foot into the palace to find them about to kill Tate. Of course, I demanded them to stop and I volunteered to join, if they made him my guard, not that I need one. If he wasn't, he still would have been killed. End of story." She nonchalantly placed her hand on his foot and squeezed until he winced in pain. He hid it well, if Jasper had to admit. Jay stood. "We should be going. We have to see to Tanya, Tate," she said. He stood alongside her and they quickly left, before they could be stopped.

John stayed behind, however. "The Reunion will be in Dallas. Its a secluded area. All vampires, no humans. It should be easy on your way of life," he commented. "Aro may have mentioned that when he told us to find you."

Jasper stood, volunteering himself to walk him to the door. Once there, he had the guts to ask. "What's so important about Dallas? How's it all vampires?"

John smiled. "It's more self explanatory once you get there. The Whitlocks came up with it, of course. But you'll get to meet them. Mister?"

"Whitlock," he stated, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't related to the ones he spoke of.

John bowed his head, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck," he said, before walking off.

Jasper ran back up to Carlisle's study to find only Alice, Carlisle and Edward still huddled together, reading the written words on the parchment they had been given. "So, a reunion, huh?" Jasper said, rocking on his heels. Alice looked up.

"I don't think their the Whitlock's you know, Jasper," she sighed. Jasper was thrilled by that news. He resented his human family.

Nessie pushed open the door behind Jasper. "Why could Tate's parents sleep?" she asked, remembering Tate's tale. "I found the story about the vampires," she made air quotes around the word, "on the computer with Rose. Jayton's a Whitlock too. Does that mean your related to her, Jasper? I think Maria left Tate for you," she pointed to Jasper, "Jayton didn't like living with the Volturi, I could tell. I think she stayed because she _loves,_" she sang the word, "Tate. Am I right? You guys have to know! Right? Am I right? Are we going to the party? Reunions are like a party. Whose reuniting? Why were they apart?" Nessie was babbling. Jacob came in behind her and lifted her up and sat her on his shoulders. She almost reached the ceiling.

"No one was apart, Ness," Jacob told her. "The old bafoons just want to make sure that everyone is quacking when they say quack." Nessie hit his head with her hand and shook it out when it hurt her and not him. "Are we going?" he inquired, looking to Edward.

"_We_ are. _Your _not," he growled back.

"Enough," Carlisle raised his voice over them before they started fighting. "We'll take it to a vote." Vampire hearing was a wonderful thing. It let them all to know what was going on without having to go to another room. Of course, it could make them lazy.

Everyone was in the room within minutes, privately debating amongst themselves. "More stories?" Emmett asked, hopefully when he came in and slouched into a chair near Jasper's.

"No."

"Pity," he sighed, shaking his head.

Nessie huffed. "There should be more stories," she wined, crossing her arms over Jacob's head.

"Go ahead," Carlisle said, taking the envelope he had been given and heading for the door. "I'll just be a minute."

"Alright, someone better come up with something good," Emmett said, earning him laughs from the Cullen women.

Bella grabbed a book from the bookshelf, opened it and began to read. Jasper couldn't get himself to pay attention. He had read it already, but that was besides the point. He found himself studying his past, human and immortal. Back, when he was human, the Whitlocks were a big family. He was the sixth of thirteen. They were a musical group, no doubt. His father had written many symphonies and had performed for the church and at town functions. He taught each of them who wanted to learn, how to play. They had all been singing since they could open their mouths. Jasper had built his own piano once, with the help of his elder brothers of course. Besides the point, they had written songs together. They could be catergorized under dozens of genres these days. And if he wasn't mistaken. He had heard them once or twice. He shook his head, denying him to believe the family who had sent him away had moved on and the sold out his songs. There was no way they could even be alive. He was sure of it.

* * *

Carlisle came back a while later, passports in hand. "First, we'll take to vote whether we go at all. Rosalie?"

"Of course, it's a party, isn't it? Besides, what better way to pass the time than show up a bunch of southern hillbillies." She smirked. Jasper rolled his eyes. Certainly anyone southern was a hillbilly in her book. Even him, for Christ sake.

"Sure," Emmett volunteered. "Why not? All vampires, right? We get to go out and see actual people."

Esme uttered a simple yes, keeping her comments to herself. Bella shook her head, no. And when asked why not, she said, "what if this is just some trick of the Volturi's to-"

"They wouldn't do somethin' like that," Jasper cut her off, relieving her of the stress it was starting to cause her.

Everyone else agreed, willingly.

Unfortunately for Edward, everyone also agreed Jacob should tag along; should they need any wolf assistance, they would have him. And he could get to the other wolves if they needed more help too.

Carlisle handed Esme her passport. "Good, now that that's settled. We leave tomorrow. Get packing."

* * *

**_Right, well. It's long. And just sitting and talking seems utterly pointless. But this isn't even a filler chapter as knowing what's in it is nessicary for the rest of the story. I'm not sure having characters regularly singing and writing songs that are actually real is okay. But there's songfics aren't there? It really isn't any different. The songs WONT be mine, obviously, nor do I claim, or will ever claim, that they are. Oh, the story Tate told, was a legend I found whilst researching on line, edited and fitted so it worked out with his life story of course. _**

**_So one may ask what's up with the Kotlers? Well, one might actually have to put the story on alert and wait and see(: _**

**_I appreciate reviews. But no flame. Seriously, if ya didnt like it, you wouldnt have even gotten to chapter three to read it, unless your my lovely Twilight hating reader who secretly loves this story. Anyway, Enjoy.. _**

**_-Slytherinchickk_**

**_Reviews would be lovely(:_**


	4. Chapter Four

**_Peace of Heart_**

**_Chapter Four_**

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The rain fell hot against his skin, lapping in small puddles on the ground, despite the sun's appearance in the sky. The four hour plane ride hadn't proven to be beneficial to anyone, especially him. Everyone was anxious, if not all for the same reasons. They walked in circles, in the high grass of a field, not yet planted in. Trees surrounded the plain, they couldn't see much through the dense mass of them, but smoke pierced the air billowing in light gray clouds over the horizon; by tacit agreement, they decided to head in that direction.

A road started about halfway through the thicket of trees, gravel mixed with tar chips, which they followed until it dropped off onto a dirt road. Emmett, who was none to happy with the distance they had to travel, continued to complain loudly. A clopping sound received their attention, putting even Emmett into a silence. A rider approached, slowly it seemed as the dark silhouette came into view. But in truth, the rider had been racing to where they stood, with three others trailing closely behind.

Emmett, ever the outgoing type, strode toward them, careless to any danger they might appose, the others were ready, just in case. He held out his hand as one of the riders dismounted and shook it, speaking in a foreign tongue, most unfortunate for them; "Su aqui para la fiesta, no?"

Emmett took a step back in alarm, completely befuddled. Edward chuckled, and relaxed. "It's Spanish," he said, looking to Carlisle, "you don't happen to know any, do you?"

Carlisle huffed out a sigh and shook his head. He gave it a try anyway though, "Hablas.. Ingles?" The stout, Hispanic man uttered a word in his native language, he could only guess to be a curse.

One of the others leapt from his horse and, from what they could tell, told the other to remount his steed. "You'll be the Denali clan?" the other rider said, producing a faint hint of Russian through his words.

"Farther south," Carlisle smiled, extending his hand, "the Cullens, actually." The man nodded, removed his hat and bowed to the ladies, but did not take the hand offered to him. "You will run along side us then," said he. And they obeyed.

When they, at last, arrived, it was to an empty town. Doors and windows were boarded up, old trees looked weak as they drooped towards the ground. The place looked abandoned, and even that, was an understatement. They continued to walk though, following the horsemen towards a row of buildings, each connected by a sidewalk of wood leading down the way. The riders dismounted, and motioned for them to follow them. Before they got to the door of the first building, which up close looked far more recently built and sanitary, the door opened, and a woman stuck her head out, muttered something to the men, who continued towards her as if this were a normal occurance, and slipped back in side, brown curls just barely caught by the swinging door.

Jasper hesitated on the walkway, listening, as something clicked, and slid across what he would assume was the floors. The wood in the doors and windows were whisked away from all the businesses and homes, people flooded the streets; they stood in awe. "A security precaution," Rosalie assumed aloud, pushing past Emmett to the door ahead of them. She entered and they were obliged to follow.

They were seated quickly, by the curly-haired brunette, and left with menus whilst she poured their drinks. Jasper looked around, a chill ran up his spine, he noticed a few older men and women glancing their way and whispering. Town gossips, he figured. It wouldn't be long before they found out about everybody and the imaginary-suspicious business they were getting up to. It's how it worked in small towns like this. Everyone knew everybodies' business, and if they didn't, they made things up to fill the silence.

Jasper looked to his menu, half of which was in, what he assumed to be, Spanish, the other half in English, thankfully. Everything was Italian, the soups, breads, pastas, meat, fish, rice, even the desserts were all made with old Italian recipes. He sighed gratefully, when he had lived in Dallas, way back when, the town was divided; half of the resturaunts and people would only serve Polish dishes, whilst the other half was strictly Irish. The bars were void of the dispute between customs back then, they both served Irish Whiskey, and their own brew.

Alice edged closer towards Jasper, desperately trying to get away from Jacob, who was clouding her vision. Just when she'd thought she was going to see one, he had to sit down next to her. Granted it had been getting better now, it was only a bit fuzzy and she couldn't always hear the conversation, she was adjusting. The hum of the crowd seemed to settle her though. Everyone was talking and laughing with one another, no one appeared to be unhappy. Their server returned with their drinks, eight longnecks, and two teas. Emmett couldn't help but laugh at the 'pity-me' expression on Jacob's face. He would be entirely to young to legally drink, in the United States, for quite awhile.

The server took their order and turned from their table as the crowd hushed, abruptly. Heads turned as heavy footsteps sounded from outside, besides that the only other noise was Nessie, bouncing in her seat. The workers continued about their jobs, however tense. Edward scanned the room, Alice tried to see something, anything. While Jasper, always the diplomat, rose from his seat and waved for a waiter, whom he proceeded to ask why everyone had gotten so quiet.

This waiter, male, shorter than Jasper but not my much, with sky blue eyes, looked a bit put off, at first. But, upon realizing they weren't from around here, he sighed and turned to him and the others. "It's nothin' you should be worried 'bout." And he walked away.

"Well, that was dissappointing," Jasper commented, slowly sinking into his chair.

Rosalie chuckled lightly as she gazed around the room, thoughtfully. She put her finger to her chin, and itched, pointing her index finger towards her left, "they seem to think we're going to be run off." She happened to be pointing to the group of old men and women, Jasper had noticed earlier.

"Why's that?" Jasper asked, taking a swig of the bottle. Rosalie shrugged. The amber liquid burned down his throat, making him regret his action. Oh, what he wouldn't give to be hunting instead of being here.

The doors swung open behind them, and two men, tanned to their toes, stepped in, dark stetsons pulled low over their eyes. Normally, it was more than polite to remove your hat when entering a vacinity; but apparently that rule didn't apply to them. Unlike a few of the men they'd seen so far, they were rounder about the waist, probably from alcohol consumption, and had a lazy look to them, as if that's what they did all day. Despite that though, from the way the others in the building were quickly averting their stares and trying to calmly change the subject away from them, they were to be feared.

One of them stopped in the middle of the room, the second reached the hostess' podium before realizing and turning to see what had made his companion stop. The first inhaled deeply through his nose, and cocked his head to the side as he contemplated over whatever it was he thought he smelt. "Smell that?" The man inquired, his voice a deep scratchy sound that instantly irritated their eardrums. From where Carlisle and Esme were sitting, they could see the man smirk beneath the shaded brim of his hat. The other man, smelt the air hesitantly, and shrugged, scuffing the floor with his boot, hoping to get on past this.

The first, finally, removed his hat, spun it in his meaty hands, and turned to the crowd, a scowl in his eyes but a smirk on his mouth, "smells like a Whitlock," he said, examining the crowd.

Alice had to place a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. Jacob placed his over Nessie's. And Jasper lifted his collar to his nose, and sniffed profusely. He didn't smell that bad, did he? Edward let a chuckle slip at Jasper's thought. But the noise seemed to surpass the man's sense of hearing. A few of the people closest to the door, were trying to slip out, unnoticed, among one of them was their curly-haired waitress.

"Damon, I don't think-"

"That's not surprising," the man, currently searching the crowd insistently, said over the rest of his partner's sentence. "Are you going to help me look for them or not?" The other man looked a bit puzzled at first, before, on an impulse, turned again to the hostess and asked for a seat at the counter. Damon, from what they could assume his name was - all things considered - rolled his eyes and plopped his hat onto his head once again. He sniffed the air again, and edged closer to their side of the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jasper saw someone duck under the swinging doors, to avoid the creaking noise they'd make, and remain crouched there. Someone from the other side pointed to their side of the vacinity, and the man got down and army crawled the rest of the way. Jasper bit his tongue, it was quite humourous. But he'd rather not get anybody into trouble, not right now anyway.

He watched, the man made it halfway towards their side, before turning and going back, probably so it would seem like he was trying to flee. Damon caught on. He strode towards him, and violently grabbed hold of the poor guy's collar and yanked upwards, setting him on his feet. Recognition dawned in Damon's expression and he let him go, however roughly. "Shouldn't you be working?" he snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shouldn't you be drinking?" the guy retorted, removing his hat and nodding politely to the hostess. He ran a hand through his golden brown, curly locks, they only just reached the tip of his ear. Tension loosened as the occupants chuckled and finally turned back to their own conversations. Damon, looked rightfully pissed, as he grabbed his partner by the shirt collar and all-but dragged him out. The remaining people who still happened to be watching, clapped loudly and the man bowed deeply, only adding to the humor.

Curiousity getting the better of him, Jasper stood, without warning, and sauntered over to the man, who was now flanked by two leggy red heads, giggling and whispering in his ear. He approached with his hand held out, the other resting on his hip, where just behind his jacket was a revolver. "Jasper," he introduced himself, waiting anxiously for the return gesture.

He was looked over, studied closely for a moment; the man's eyes narrowed to slits and his mouth set in a thin line. Jasper was just about to drop his hand when it was clasped. "Last name?"

Jasper's hand shook uneasily when the man squeezed tightly, waiting for his answer. "Hale," he finally muttered, the grip loosened.

"Will Kane," the man said, shaking his hand roughly. They let them drop, Will began to drift away. And Jasper could have sworn he'd just seen him wink.

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_Oh wow. It's certainly been awhile since this has been updated. Oops. I'd like to say I've been busy. But I haven't really. Just sick, alot. (Which probably should have given me time to update this.) And riding, even more than I've been sick. So I haven't even been within hands reach of a computer. Excuses, excuses. They always sound pathetic, even if they're my own.  
Anyway, thank you to all who have alerted, favorited, read, and/or reviewed. It is much appreciated!_

_-Slytherinchickk_

_P.S. I used Google Translate. Forgive me if my Spanish, or any other language I use is wrong. _

_Reviews would be lovely(:_


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